The Government is confident that current revenue will be sufficient to meet outstanding debt obligations without creating an unmanageable repayment burden in the coming years, Finance Minister Hassan Zareer has said.

Speaking on the 10th episode of the Ahaa forum, Zareer said debt repayments were being managed through long-term planning, continued contributions to the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) and measures to increase foreign currency inflows.

He said this year had involved substantial debt repayments, but the Government expected to avoid similar pressure in the coming years by controlling public expenditure and strengthening revenue.

Zareer highlighted Moody’s recent upgrade of the Maldives’ credit rating from Caa2 to Caa1, citing the Government’s debt management efforts. The Government has repaid a USD 500 million sukuk, two USD 50 million Treasury bills owed to the State Bank of India (SBI), and a USD 400 million currency swap facility. Repayment of a USD 100 million loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund has also been deferred until 2031.

The minister said external debt had declined from USD 2.8 billion, equivalent to 35 per cent of GDP at the end of last year, to USD 2.4 billion, or 30 per cent of GDP, by the second quarter of this year.

He added that the Maldives had sought support from the World Bank and other international financial institutions to strengthen economic reforms amid rising global oil prices and challenges affecting tourism revenue.

As of 8 October, the Government had spent MVR 10.1 billion on debt repayments out of USD 1.1 billion due this year.